Saturday, September 10, 2011

Soup, Soup, Soup - I love Soup

Remember how I said that one of my favorite things about fall is soup?

Do you need further proof of that?

If your answer is yes then keep reading because here it is!
If your answer is no, well keep reading anyway.  This is important stuff I'm writing here.

Ok, maybe not world altering important, but definitely don't-know-what-to-make-for-dinner-and-I-need-an-idea important. :)

But before we get to the soups lets take a quick breakfast review.

BREAKFAST

cooked millet topped with bananas, strawberries, dates, cinnamon & chia seeds


Yep, under all those toppings is millet, not oatmeal!  Truthfully, I would have still been eating oatmeal had I not underestimated the amount of millet I had in my bag and overestimated how much would fit in my fancy new jars.  But I did under/over estimate so I had extra millet and there was NO way I was getting out a bag to put the extra in.  So I did the most reasonable thing I could think of and cooked it up.  Just a quick boil.  That's why it was in my salad the other day and why I had it for breakfast yesterday.  :)

Of course to sweeten it up I threw some of these bad boys on top...


Chopped Dates in Oat Flour
Holy Tasty Snack, Batman! (or Beatman, as Kai likes to call him - "because he beats people up".  I guess the fact that he dresses like a bat completely escaped her).  I discovered these in my sister's pantry when I was visiting and after making a significant dent in her stash I bought some of my own.

I. Just. Can't. Stop. Eating. Them.

LUNCH

For lunch today we had visitors!!  Yes, since Kai's in school now she doesn't get to see Grammy & Grandpa very often.  It's a bit of a blow to go from seeing them twice a week to not at all so we invited them over for lunch (and as it turned out to hit them up for a school fundraiser - cha-ching!).  What did I decide to make them for lunch...



Wait for it...




Are you trembling with anticipation?....




I made...




Hamburgers!!


Ha, that was a test to see if you've been paying attention!  




Of course I didn't make hamburgers.  I made soup.  If I had made burgers then my entire post intro would have made no sense at all!

Cheese Quesadilla & Soup #1
VEGETABLE SOUP
Makes 4 bowls

1/4 onion - diced
4 green onions - diced
1/2 t minced garlic
4 small potatoes - diced
large handful of baby carrots - chopped
1/2 C White Beans
1-2 C Vegetable broth
4 tomatoes - chopped
4 Kale leaves - destemmed & torn up
1/4 C dry Quinoa
Feta Cheese & Nutritional Yeast to top

Saute the onions, garlic, potatoes, & carrots until the onion is clear.
Add the beans, broth, tomatoes, Kale & Quinoa and simmer until the vegetables are all tender - about 15-20 minutes.
Put in bowls and top with Feta Cheese & Nutritional Yeast.

QUESADILLAS
Makes 4

4 corn tortillas
1/2 C Mexican Blend Cheese

Place your tortillas on a griddle and spread the cheese on 1/2 of each one (so you have a 1/2 circle of cheese).
Fold the tortilla in half and let finish toasting.
Cut & Serve.
Easy, Peasy!


For dessert my mom brought Rice Crispy Treats.

A Lot of Rice Crispy Treats.

And then left them all here!


Yum
When Kai saw them she said, "oh, no!  Grammy forgot her rice crispy treats.  Well, I guess we get to eat them all!" lol!  I guess the idea of returning them is right next to the fact that Bruce Wayne is dressed like a bat.

DINNER

I wasn't sure what we were going to have for dinner until the Hubs reminded me that I was supposed to make Chili.  See I was going to make him chili a few days ago and then he got sick.  He wasn't eating ANYTHING, least of all chili.  Then the next day came and went and he was STILL sick.  So then the NEXT day came and he wanted just a measly grilled cheese sandwich - without any fun toppings.  And that brings us to this day...when I finally make chili.  Only I don't really want chili!  Ugh, don't you just hate when that happens?

Fortunately I was not deterred.  I went ahead and browned him some meat.  While that was cooking up I started to compile my soupy stew. :)

Soup #2

SWEET POTATO-EGGPLANT SOUP
Makes 2 bowls

1/4 onion - chopped
1/2 VERY Large Sweet Potato (or 1 regular sized one)
3/4 C chopped eggplant
3 Tomatoes - chopped
1 C Vegetable Broth
1/4 C Long Grain Brown Rice
1/2 T Chili Powder
1 t Cumin Powder
1/4 C Lentils
Avocado & Greek Yogurt for topping

Saute the onion, sweet potatoes & eggplant for about 5-10 minutes.  I wanted to get them nice and browned.
Add the tomatoes, Broth, Rice, Lentils and spices & bring to a boil.
Cover and let simmer until the rice is cooked - about 30 minutes.  Check periodically and add more broth if needed.
Scoop into bowls & top with avocado & yogurt.


The Hub's Chili - Soup #3
While all that was going on I put together the Hub's chili.

HUB'S CHILI
1/3 lb Ground Beef (when we buy it in the store I split it into 3rd and freeze it individually)
Scant amount of chopped onion (the hub's doesn't like onion - WEIRDO - and I mean that in a loving way)
1 Can chopped tomatoes with Chili
1 small can tomato sauce
1 T Chili Powder
1 t Cumin Powder
Elbow Noodles (macaroni) - cooked
Cheese & Oyster Crackers to top

Brown the meat with the onion.  
Add the tomatoes, sauce & spices.
Let simmer until dinner time. :)


In a bowl put your noodles then top with the chili & toppings.
This is as basic a chili recipe as you can get. lol!!


So that was my Day O' Soup.  The only thing that could have made it better would have been a big old bowl of watermelon...but sadly I'm out. :(



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